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Memory Eternal! Linda Simon was the longtime secretary for the Fellowship of St. John the Divine in the Diocese of Toledo and the Midwest, and was also involved in numerous other ministries throughout the Diocese and in her church of St. George Antiochian Orthodox Christian Church, Cleveland, Ohio.

In the interview, Bishop Thomas described his experiences as a teacher in public, private, and homeschool settings, and offered his advice to parents on making educational choices for children. He noted that "we shop for everything—things that are of little consequence. This (choosing a school) is extremely important, so I would suggest that in any particiular educational situation parents do some investigation; talk to people who have participated, both parents and teachers to see what the philosophy and theology of the school is." His Grace also discussed the pros and cons of homeschooling, and encouraged parents to avoid "the temptation of isolation."

Students enjoy a lighter moment at 2012 College Conference EastIn partnership with the Orthodox Christian Fellowship (OCF), Ancient Faith Radio has posted the talks from the 2012 OCF College Conferences as an AFR "Special." Held annually after Christmas at Antiochian Village (East) and St. Nicholas Ranch (West), the conferences draw college students from all part of the U.S. together for several days of workshops, fellowship, and lectures from top-notch Orthodox speakers.

In addition to the podcasts featuring talks on the theme "Trust in the Power and Love of God," the AFR line-up of conference audio includes the program "Orthodoxy Live with Fr. Evan Armatas," who conducted a live call-in show with the students at the College Conference East at Antiochian Village.

It is with extreme sadness that we inform you that our beloved brother in Christ, The Very Reverend Father Nicholas Habib, fell asleep in the Lord on Sunday, December 16, 2012.

His Eminence Archbishop Joseph of Los Angeles and the West presided over the funeral service, which was held at 7 p.m. on Tuesday evening, December 18, 2012, at St. Nicholas Orthodox Church in San Francisco.

May God receive him in His Heavenly Kingdom, and may his memory be eternal!

Peter Lang International Academic Publishers recently announced the release of a new title, a festschrift ("celebration publication") in honor of The Very Rev. Dr. Paul Tarazi, an Antiochian Biblical scholar and professor of Old Testament at St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary. The Festschrift in Honor of Professor Paul Nadim Taraziis the third book in a series, "Bible in the Christian Orthodox Tradition," and includes a collection of articles discussing the latest scholarly findings in the field of the Old Testament studies. Scholars from around the world Fr. Paul Taraziconducting research in the Old Testament text, theology, canon, interpretation, and criticism have contributed their recent findings in the fields of their research and teaching to this volume.

St. Alexander Nevsky MonasteryWith the blessings of His Eminence Metropolitan Philip, His Grace Bishop Nicholas and Archpriest Thomas Zain will be leading a pilgrimage to Russia from August 13-27, 2013. They will spend 8 nights in St. Petersburg and 5 nights in Moscow, visiting the various religious and cultural sights in both cities.

Highlights in St. Petersburg will include St. Alexander Nevsky Monastery, St. Isaac Cathedral, Cathedral of Our Lady of Kazan and the Church of the Spilt Blood. The Hermitage, the Yusupov Palace, the summer palaces of the Czars and the Sts. Peter and Paul Fortress. Also included is a day trip to the ancient capital of Novgorod where we will visit the St. George Monastery and the Kremlin. In Moscow, highlights will include visits to the St. Sergius-Trinity Lavra (Monastery), which is the spiritual center of the Russian Orthodox Church, Christ the Savior Cathedral, the Kremlin museums and Cathedrals, the Butovo Firing Range and several monasteries.

The group will be limited to between 16-22 people to keep the pilgrimage small in size. For a brochure containing more detailed information, please contact Fr. Thomas Zain at abounathomas@me.com.

The following is the New Year’s letter offered to the teens of the Antiochian Archdiocese by Fr. Joseph F. Purpura, the chairman of the Department of Youth and Parish Ministry. In it, he describes his hopes and prayers for the youth of the Archdiocese in this new season.

As we enter the year of our Lord 2013, a flood of thoughts flow through my mind concerning you the young people of this great archdiocese. For many years I have been blessed to lead the youth efforts across this North American Archdiocese. First as a Regional Spiritual Advisor from 1981-1985, then as the North American Council of SOYO Spiritual Advisor from 1985-1991 and then as Chairman of the Department of Youth and Parish Ministry from 1990 to present. In each of these thirty-five years of priesthood and youth work, I have been keenly aware of three things:

First, that our task is to pass the faith down to each of you.

Second, to instill in you a love for Christ and His Holy Orthodox Church and to enable you to live a righteous life in Jesus Christ.

Third, to raise generations of disciples and leaders for Christ’s Holy Orthodox Church and these North American nations in which we reside.

With each passing year and with each successive generation of young persons placed before us, I continue to be amazed and filled with joy at just how blessed our archdiocese and Holy Orthodox Church here in North America is to have so many dedicated, loving, and Christ-centered young persons in our midst. So often the media is filled with all that is wrong in our society, especially among young people, yet all we need to do is look at you, the youth of this archdiocese, and know that God is present and working in you.

It is with extreme sadness that we inform you that our beloved brother in Christ, Father Polycarp Whitcomb, Pastor of St. Athanasius Church in Sacramento, California, fell asleep in the Lord on Friday, January 4, 2013. His Eminence Archbishop Joseph has asked the parishes to remember him in your prayers for the departed for the next 40 days and to hold a special Trisagion for his eternal life. The funeral arrangements will be announced once they are set. May God receive him in His Heavenly Kingdom and may his memory be eternal.

Des Plaines, IL – More than 60 parents, clergy and youth leaders attended a breakfast forum titled “How To Talk To Your Kids…and save your child from substance use/abuse” on Saturday, December 8 at St. John the Baptist Greek Orthodox Church in Des Plaines, IL, a northwest suburb of Chicago. Sponsored by the Orthodox Christian Coalition for Healthy Youth (OCCHY), the forum hosted people from seven Orthodox jurisdictions representing fifteen parishes in the Greater Chicago area.

Following a prayer and welcome from OCCHY Director Fr. Nicholas Dahdal, and brief introduction to OCCHY by Project Coordinator Gordana Trbuhovich, the program began with a National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) video presentation, featuring Dr. Nora Volkow. Three dynamic speakers followed, beginning with Fr. Athanasios Papagiannis, LCSW, a licensed social worker and assistant priest at Assumption Greek Orthodox Church in Chicago. Father Athanasios stressed positive and spiritual relationships in his presentation, “You and Your Child." “The way you bend the young branch,” Father stated, “is the direction in which the tree will grow."

The Western Rite Vicariate announces the publication of ORDO 2013. This booklet is the official liturgical guide for all Western Rite parishes in the Vicariate. It contains directions for reciting the Divine Office and celebrating the Mass according to the calendar and use of the Western Rite Vicariate of the Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese of North America. It contains rubrics for both the Rite of St. Gregory with the Monastic Diurnal, and the Rite of St. Tikhon with The English Office.

The ORDO 2013 is available in both print and electronic formats. Copies may be purchased at the St. Luke’s Priory Press Store on Lulu: www.lulu.com/spotlight/frfenton.

(Photo by Reuters/Jamal Saidi)Baltimore, MD (IOCC) — The conflict that rages on in Syria has severely crippled the country's power plants as well as damaged major roads needed to transport heating fuel during the coldest time of year, while violence, sanctions and instability in the region have led to critical fuel shortages. As thousands of displaced families and elderly throughout Syria struggle to stay warm on nights that dip below freezing, International Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC) is responding with winter relief to more than 30,000 Syrian families.

Through your generous support and support from the ACT Alliance, IOCC in partnership with the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East (GOPA) distributed diesel stoves and electric heaters to several areas in Syria. Families living in areas with access to fuel but no power received diesel stoves, while families facing fuel shortages but still have electricity received electric heaters.

Baltimore, MD (IOCC) — More than 80 representatives of the nation's Orthodox Christian service organizations joined together at the White House on December 14, 2012, to discuss strategic service alliances with the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. The White House Conference on Orthodox Christian Engagement was hosted by the White House Office of Public Engagement in conjunction with the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships and facilitated by International Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC).

Present to discuss the role of Orthodox Christians in social outreach, disaster response, and community development in the United States were Archbishop Nicolae of the Romanian Orthodox Archdiocese in the Americas and liaison to IOCC from the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of North and Central America.

Christine Lynch directs the St. George choirOn Friday, December 21, 2012, His Eminence Metropolitan Philip continued an annual tradition at the headquarters for the Antiochian Archdiocese in Englewood, NJ, by hosting the choir of St. George Antiochian Orthodox Church, Little Falls, NJ. The night of caroling and fellowship, a tradition of some forty years, featured the St. George choir directed by Christine Lynch.

The carolers arrived at the door of the Archdiocese singing the hymns and carols of the season, until ushered in by Metropolitan Philip. They continued the mini-concert of liturgical and secular religious carols while the Metropolitan and his guests, including Bishop Nicholas, St. George's pastor Fr. Dimitri Darwich, and area clergy and friends listened, and then joined in the singing.

Fr. Elias and Kh. Joanne Bitar in 2011Memory Eternal! Prayers are requested for the repose of the soul of the handmaiden of God, Kh. Joanne Bitar, wife of Archpriest Elias Bitar (retired) of St. George Antiochian Orthodox Church, Little Falls, NJ. Khouria Joanne fell asleep in the Lord on Sunday morning, December 30, 2012, after a long battle with cancer.

A long time volunteer at Antiochian Village, and a beloved mother to Katrina, Sister Ignatia, Martha, Michael, and Antony, Kh. Joanne will be laid to rest at St. Nina's Monastery in Union Bridge, Maryland.

The service times at St. George Antiochian Orthodox Church, 237 Long Hill Rd., Little Falls, NJ, are as follows:

St. Vladimir's Seminary Press recently released Turning East: Contemporary Philosophers and the Ancient Christian Faith,a compilation of autobiographical essays written by philosophers who have become Orthodox Christians. The book's editor, Rico Vitz, is an Antiochian Orthodox Christian who attends St. BarnabasOrthodox Church in Costa Mesa, California. He is also the Associate Professor in the Department of Philosophy at Azusa Pacific University and has authored Reforming the Art of Living: Nature, Virtue, and Religion in Descartes’s Epistemology as well as various articles and chapters in other books of philosophy.

Several of the contributors in Turning East, including Richard Swinburne (Oxford) and Tristram Engelhardt (Rice University), are internationally recognized scholars in their respective fields of philosophy of religion and bioethics. Although Turning East is written in an academic tone, it is still accessible to almost any reader and provides fascinating insight, not only into the Church itself, but into the lives of interesting people.

Please keep in your prayers all of the children and adults killed this past Friday in Newtown, Connecticut.

There are no words to describe the why of these senseless killing of innocent children and adults.

Our hope, trust, and comfort is found in God the Father who so loved us that He sent His own Son to become one of us, to die on the Cross, and to rise from the dead, making a way to the Kingdom for us so that we might have life in abundance.

May the approaching Nativity of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ bring you comfort and peace as we contemplate the tremendous and unending love of God for each of us. May His love and His presence bring you great comfort in the coming weeks and year.

A December 19, 2012 report on the Ancient Faith Radio (AFR) podcast, "Ancient Faith Presents," offered insights into the background, qualifications, and personality of Patriarch-elect John X. As reported on Antiochian.org, His Eminence the Metropolitan Archbishop of Western and Central Europe was elected Patriarch of the Great City-of-God Antioch and all the East on December 17, 2012, during a special session held at the Balamand Patriarchal Monastery of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos.

In this exclusive AFR report, John Maddex interviewed two people who have longstanding ties with the newly elected Patriarch. The Very Rev. Joseph Allen, chairman of Theological and Pastoral Education at the Antiochian House of Studies, noted that he spent a number of hours with Patriarch-elect John when he visited the United States a few years ago and spoke at the Clergy Symposium at Antiochian Village. Father Joseph noted that Patriarch-elect John X will bring much to his new role, as one who is very well educated, possessing excellent English skills, liturgically talented, but also, a compassionate hierarch who has a heart for God and people. "He is strict for himself but forgiving in dealing with others—and he has a good sense of humor," said Fr. Joseph. "His election is a blessing to Antioch."

For twenty-five years, the Orthodox ministry Project Mexico has been harnassing the energy of young people by sponsoring home building projects for Mexico's poor. Hundreds of needy families have moved into homes constructed for them with the help of nearly 10,000 volunteers. Sponsored by parishes from around the country including many from the Antiochian Archdiocese, and by Orthodox organizations such as the Orthodox Christian Fellowship (OCF), group building weeks for 2013 are already filling up. (Sign up for a summer home building week.)

There are two types of homebuilding groups hosted by Project Mexico each summer: small groups, and Orthodox Basic Training (OBT) groups. During the weeks dedicated to small group participation, teams from one, two, or three parishes construct a single home for a needy family, spend the afternoons interacting with the boys of St. Innocent's, and learn about the local culture through a visit to Rosarito. During Basic Training weeks, Project Mexico hosts larger groups who construct between four to seven homes in one week. Each evening, volunteers listen to inspiration speakers, and on Sunday builders enjoy a day of fellowship and fun at St. Innocent’s.

On Saturday, August 25, 2012, Fr. Nabil Hanna and about 350 parishioners and friends of St. George Orthodox Church, Indianapolis, joined together for the service, "Founding a New Church," and the subsequent groundbreaking ceremony. Presided over by His Grace Bishop Anthony, the service took place on the new property where the parish will relocate once the new building is completed, in the neighboring community of Fishers, Indiana.

On September 19, construction commenced as the big diesel engines fired up in the earth moving machines. Construction continued despite the rain and the foundations were poured and progress was made, all under the able supervision of the construction manager, Mr. David Mouck. Forms for the lower level walls were up and filled with concrete.

On Saturday, November 17, the lower level slab was blessed and the Cross, icons, photos, prayers and mementos were placed into the foundation, under where the altar will be, before the workers poured the concrete for the floor. Next the bell tower was poured. Completion is expected by the summer of 2013.

The Orthodox Christian Translation Society (OCTS) has announced the publication of their first book, Place Your Hope in the Lord: The Poetic Spiritual Life of Father Lazar. The title, which brings forward the spiritual teachings of the former abbot of the famous Ostrog Monastery in Montenegro (a pilgrimage destination for thousands from around the world), was originally published in the Serbian language.

The OCTS website explains that their organization "exists to bridge the gap between cultures and languages through the translation of Orthodox texts and to help translators share their unique skills with the Orthodox world. Unlike other publishers and bookstores, we are a non-profit organization committed to the entire process of creating high quality Orthodox translations....We accept proposals from skilled translators, and then select projects to support. Once a project is chosen, OCTS commits to support that project financially from beginning to end."

That project support, continues OCTS, can include the translation of a work, any necessary editing, and then the book's subsequent publication with its marketing and distribution aspects. Translators are offered financial compensation for their labors as best befits the project, and the circumstances of the translator.

A board of directors and an advisory board guide the process for OCTS. Antiochian bishop His Grace Bishop Basil of the Diocese of Wichita and Mid-America serves on the advisory board, while several of the directors are active members of Antiochian parishes. Read about the OCTS team here.

On December 10, 2012, the Cedar Rapids Gazette reported that since mid-November, "piece by piece," Soleiman Shalhoub has been installing a stone iconostasis at St. George Orthodox Church. Last January, he began the project with the aid of fifteen employees, sketching out his designs and then carefully carving the Syrian stone quarried from mountains in the Holy Land.

“There’s no one else who does this kind of work,” Shalhoub said, noting that his technique has been passed down through his family for generations. Six tons of stone traveled by ship to New York in 1,700 pieces, arriving at about the same time as Hurricane Sandy made landfall. It was then transported via truck and train to Cedar Rapids.

Members of St. George's community have assisted with the project, providing meals and labor. The parish will celebrate with an open house in the spring once the icons are mounted in the completed stone iconostasis. "The finished piece, which will include red oak doors also designed by Shalhoub, will be unlike any other piece of art in Iowa," noted the Gazette.